Carter, Johnson combine for 36 as Aggies dominate Oklahoma City, 67-37
The Aggies outshined the Stars on the court.
The No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies were back in action at Reed Arena on Friday night as they easily took care of business in an exhibition against Oklahoma City University, defeating the Stars 67-37. Gary Blair’s squad, a Sweet Sixteen team a year ago, returned all five starters but chose to utilize the depth of his bench in the exhibition, getting 11 of his players minutes in the matchup.
“This was exactly what we needed,” said Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair. “We needed somebody in a different colored uniform.”
Ciera Johnson led the way for A&M with 24 points while feeding off of many fantastic assists courtesy of Chennedy Carter. The 6-foot-4 center had a phenomenal night in the paint for the Maroon & White.
“Ciera went crazy today, good job Ciera,” Carter said following the contest. “For her to be able to start the season off strong is big ups for her.”
Even though they won by 30 points, Carter was not satisfied with their performance.
“For me personally, it wasn’t the best that I can play,” Carter said. “I feel like I can play better and I have to set the bar for my teammates a little harder. For our first game, I thought we did pretty okay.”
Johnson echoed Carter’s sentiments as well.
“As long as we won the game - we didn’t play up to our level of play at all but I mean we won so a win is a win,” Johnson said.
Carter played a more limited role than what she is used to. For much of the contest, the Texas A&M offense did not run through Carter as the Aggies opted to look for other routes to the basket in the exhibition. Texas A&M outscored Oklahoma City 32-10 in the paint.
“We have to be able to pass out off that size because we are fixing to see a very good man-to-man team in UALR,” Blair said.
Aaliyah Wilson returned to action for the first time since last December. Carter said it was important to have Wilson back on the floor and Blair said he hopes to have her playing at 90 percent at the end of the season as she continues to come back from her knee injury.
“I am not worried about her jump shot- she missed some but she hasn’t played a game since December 5th,” Blair said.
A&M’s defense shined as they held the Stars to just 25-percent from the field. The Aggies gave up only 9 offensive boards and forced 21 turnovers.
“Our defense was much better than our offense tonight,” Blair said. “We will work on it because we are going to play a very good team in UALR on Tuesday night.”
Early on, the Aggies were unable to pull away as the Stars’ three-point shooting kept them in the game. Oklahoma City’s Mallory Johnson went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc in the first half. However, it was not enough as the duo of Carter and Johnson each scored double-digits in the first 20 minutes and took the Aggies to the locker room with a 32-23 advantage.
In the second half, Texas A&M was finally able to pull away in the third. The Aggies opened the half on a 7-0 scoring run and outscored the Stars 22-6 in the third quarter alone.
The exhibition was the Aggies’ last chance to sort out the kinks before the games start to count. Texas A&M will officially open their season on Tuesday as the Aggies will take on Arkansas-Little Rock at Reed Arena. The season opener is set for a 7:00 p.m. tip and will be broadcasted on the SEC Network+.
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